Abstract

The importance of family background for the economic positions of individuals tells us something about the inequality in the society and the mobility between generations. Estimates of the intergenerational correlation in economic status is under 0.2 in Finland. These estimates are in line with the relatively low income inequality in Finland. The estimated correlations are lower for daughters than for sons. Women seem to be less affected by their family background than men are. A simple decomposition of the intergenerational correlation shows that education and occupation are the largest intermediating factors, but non-observable characteristics have an important role as well..